


Comfort

by ABrighterDarkness



Series: Tony Stark Bingo [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bad Days, Comfort Food, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABrighterDarkness/pseuds/ABrighterDarkness
Summary: Tony wasn’t sure what movie Steve had put on, didn’t really pay much attention to it.  The food was, of course, delicious.  Between that and the feeling of relaxing against Steve, with Steve, seemed to unwind that nearly-painful tension that had been tugging down so heavily just an hour or so before.--------Written for Tony Stark Bingo card 3089, adopted square - Intimacy without Sex
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1599133
Comments: 16
Kudos: 111
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Comfort  
> Collaborator Name: ABrighterDarkness  
> Card Number: 3089  
> Link (Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Pillowfort, DeviantArt, etc.):  
> Square Filled (Letter/number AND prompt): Adopted - Intimacy without Sex  
> Ship/Main Pairing: Tony/Steve  
> Rating: T  
> Major Tags: N/A  
> Summary:  
> Tony wasn’t sure what movie Steve had put on, didn’t really pay much attention to it. The food was, of course, delicious. Between that and the feeling of relaxing against Steve, with Steve, seemed to unwind that nearly-painful tension that had been tugging down so heavily just an hour or so before.  
> Word Count: 1540

Tony was tired. Not the  _ ‘fall into bed and immediately find sleep’ _ kind of tired, that at least was relatively easy to solve. No, it was the bone-deep weariness that came from turning a global, multi-billion dollar corporation on its head. From dealing with person after person who were beyond content with comparing present-SI to how  _ ‘Howard did things’. _ The type of tired that left the itchy, panicky restlessness strumming through his veins that no amount of sleep was ever going to help. Not that he would manage to get more than an hour of sleep at this point anyway. 

It was the kind of tired that, not too long ago, would have sent him on multi-day binges in the lab working on anything and everything he could possibly get his hands on. Just to silence his mind and drown out the plaguing self-doubt and recrimination.

Instead, he found himself leaning against the elevator wall, head tilted back and eyes closed as the car passed floor after floor on its way up to the penthouse. The doors had only just begun to open when his stomach rumbled at the frankly mouthwatering smells coming from the otherside of the doors.

He wandered forward curiously, mindlessly shucking his jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch and loosening his tie. His hands worked automatically to roll his sleeves as he followed the wonderful smells to the kitchen only to come to a surprised stop at the threshold.

Steve looked up and smiled warmly. “Hey,” he greeted softly. “You’re just in time.”

“In time for what?” Tony frowned.

“I’ve got about ten minutes left,” Steve answered, nodding indicatively toward the oven--the source of the scents taunting Tony’s appetite. Steve quickly but efficiently wiped his hands on a dishcloth and wound gracefully around the counters to work strong arms around Tony’s waist and tug him into a warm hug. Tony didn’t even bother pretending to fight it, melting immediately into the embrace that he hadn’t realized he needed quite as badly as he apparently did. 

“That means,” Steve continued, keeping his voice low as though he somehow knew that Tony’s head was throbbing. Then again, it was Steve, so he probably figured that out on first glance. “You have just enough time to go get changed and comfortable before dinner.”

“What did you make?” Tony asked curiously. Months ago, the same question would have been asked in an entirely different, much more wary, tone. It wasn’t really all that long ago that Steve Rogers was more capable of burning water than he was making anything remotely edible that didn’t consist of various ingredients between two slices of bread. But once again, Steve put his determination to good use with learning how to cook. More specifically, he had put it to use learning how to cook  _ for Tony. _ The reassurances that he didn’t  _ have _ had been brushed aside with the insistence that Steve wanted to.

Tony wasn’t quite sure he ever managed to properly verbalize just how almost overwhelmingly touched he had been when Steve had shyly admitted his reasonings for improving that particular skill set. 

He tried to make up for his inability to articulate those feelings by making a point to appreciate the noticeable improvement. It turned out that when Steve decided he was all-in on learning something, he didn’t just set out to  _ learn.  _ He set out to  _ master _ whatever it was. Tony could admit that his natural appreciation for good food definitely benefited from the dedication.

“It’s a surprise,” Steve answered with a teasing grin, drawing Tony back from his wandering thoughts. Steve ducked his head and stole a brief but sweet kiss before sliding his arms back from around Tony’s waist and using his hold to nudge Tony toward the bedroom. “Go on. Take your time, I’ll get everything plated up when it’s ready.”

Tony nodded in understanding and followed the instructions without complaint. He didn’t bother taking his jacket with him, he could get it later when expending the energy was considerably less draining to think about. When he reached the bedroom, he kicked off his shoes and mindlessly set to undressing piece by piece. Moving to the dresser, Tony grabbed the most comfortable pair of pajama pants in the drawer and paused just a brief moment before snatching one of Steve’s t-shirts. 

Redressed, Tony wandered back out of the bedroom barefoot. It was amazing how much just changing from his required, but sometimes suffocatingly restrictive, office wear seemed to improve his mood. He was still tired, still wiped out from spending the day dealing with  _ people. _ But it was slightly less weighty.

A quick glance told him that Steve was no longer in the kitchen, Tony frowned slightly in confusion but made his way to the living room instead. Steve looked up from his spot on the couch when he heard Tony approach and smiled. Tony rounded the edge of the couch curiously. Steve had a large, steaming bowl settled on his lap--Tony was fairly certain that the bowl was intended to be used for mixing and serving salads but he wasn’t going to question it--and a tray-full of grilled sandwiches piled high. When he settled on the couch beside Steve, Tony peeked over the edge of the bowl and had to laugh. 

Steve’s grin widened happily at the sound and he shrugged, “J’ gave me a heads up that you had a rough one today. Figured cuddling, comfort food and a movie was in order for tonight.”

“So you made mac and cheese?” Tony asked, amused.

“And grilled ham and cheese,” Steve confirmed.

Tony scooted closer until he was able to lean comfortably into Steve’s side and eyed the massive bowl of mac and cheese, “You know, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a couple of the boxed stuff downstairs.”

“I know,” Steve shrugged. “I wanted to put some effort into it though. Make you something a little more personalized than grabbing the box of the shelf. And I remembered that you liked this stuff the last time I made it.”

“I am not complaining,” Tony said reassuringly. “I am definitely not complaining. It’s just not what I was expecting, I guess.”

Steve just smiled again and reached forward to grab the tray and set it on the couch cushion beside him. He picked up the two forks that had been tucked along the side of the pile of sandwiches and handed one to Tony. “Go ahead,” he encouraged. “Dig in.”

Tony wasn’t sure what movie Steve had put on, didn’t really pay much attention to it. The food was, of course, delicious. Between that and the feeling of relaxing against Steve,  _ with _ Steve, seemed to unwind that nearly-painful tension that had been tugging down so heavily just an hour or so before. 

Once the food was finished--between the two of them both the bowl and the try were, unsurprisingly, empty--Steve carefully transferred the dishes to the coffee table and shifted to stretch out on the couch. As he settled, he looped a hand around Tony’s arm to tug him down. Tony happily followed the urging, ending up between the back of the couch and Steve, sprawled half across the other man with his head resting on Steve’s chest with Steve’s arm curled around him. 

Tony had thought from the beginning that Steve made a better pillow than even the vast majority of pillows that Tony kept on their bed. Those pillows didn’t offer the soothing sound of Steve’s steady heartbeat under his ear. They didn’t hug him tighter and press affectionate kisses to his head when he snuggled further into them or make him ridiculous from-scratch mac and cheese because he had a rough day, either. 

He had to admit that more often than not, the way that Steve seemed to understand what it was he needed to feel back to neutral left him stunned and bewildered. And more than a little cared for in a way that he never really thought was possible, at least not for someone like him. 

Tony startled from his half-dozing state when Steve’s free hand gently touched his chin and urged his head to tilt upward. Tony could help the contentedly pleased sigh when Steve’s lips found his. The movie, whatever it was, seemed to be forgotten by both of them as the kiss stretched and lingered and deepened. It wasn’t leading anywhere and neither of them attempted to steer it further because it wasn’t about that. As much as Tony loved and had no complaints about their sex life, sometimes just  _ this _ was so much better.

The kissing drew to a slow end and Steve pressed another soft kiss to his forehead before settling back onto the couch. Tony felt the sleepy contentment sink further into him. He was still full from the meal. He was warm and comfortable and safe there with Steve. And, still the most surprising, he felt loved. 

Despite the stress of the day, Tony fell asleep with a small smile. He awoke to the early morning sun shining through the bedroom windows, still held tightly against a soundly sleeping Steve’s side with Steve’s steady heartbeat under his ear. 


End file.
